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No. 617,607. l y Patented 1an. In, |899.

J. J. SCEARCY 0. S. MARTIN. TBACTION DITCHING MACHINE.

(Application led June 8, 1896. Renewed Oct. 20, 1898.) (No Model.) 2SheetAs-:Sheet I.

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"\ No. 6l7,607. Patented Jan. l0, |899.

J. J. SCEARCY &. 0. S. MARTIN.

TBACTION DITCHING MACHINE.

(Application led June 8, 1896, Renewed Oct. 20, 189B.) (No Model.) 2Sheets-Sheet 2.

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vUNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES J." SOEARCY, OF REYNOLDS, AND OLIVER S. MARTIN, OF MONON, INDIANA;CHARLES F. MARTIN ADMINISTRATOR OF SAID SCEARCY,

DECEASED.

TRACTION DlTvCHlNG-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 617,607', dated January10, 1899. Application filed June 8, 1896. Renewed October 20, 1898.Serial No. 694,095. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that we, JAMES J. ScEARcY, of Reynolds, and OLIVER S.MARTIN, of Menon, county of White, and State of Indiana, have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Traction Ditching-Machines; and wedo hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which like numerals refer to like parts.

This invention is an improvement upon a ditching machine shown anddescribed in Letters Patent of the United States issued to James B. Hillon July 3l, 1894, No. 523,790. The purpose of the improvement is toenable the machine or buckets therein to discharge their contents at theright time and to do so at all times and positively, however sticky thecontents may be and however solidly -it may be packed in the buckets.The device shown in the above-named patent has failed completely todischarge where the material worked in has been sticky or hard. Gravityalone in this case is insufficient to cause the dirt to drop out of thebuckets. In fact, when the dirt is sticky or moist the force of gravityv tending to discharge the bucket is counteracted by the suction betweenthe bucket and its contents.

Our invention affords a means for positively forcing the contents out ofthe bucket, and it will do so under all circumstances.

This invention grew out of the failure of the machine described intheabove-named patent to perform a piece of work which we had contracted todo. The mud was sticky, and the force of the wheel when the buckets werescooping the mud up caused the mud to pack so tightly in the bucketsthat they would not discharge. The machine could make no progress untilwe devised a forcible discharging mechanism.

The full nature of our invention will appear from the accompanyingdrawings and the description and claims following.

Figure l is a perspective of the ditchingmachine with our improvementthereon. Fig. 2 is a side View of the portion of the machine providedwith our improvement, parts being broken away and the discharging-armsbearing.

ready to enter a bucket. Fig. 3 is the same with the discharging-arms inthe position occupied when the bucket is being discharged. Fig. 4 is aplan View of a bucket. Fig. 5 is a sectional view thereof. Fig. 6 is the'outer portion of a discharging-arm.

The machine shown Ain Fig. l is the same as that shown and described insaid Letters Patent No. 523,790, excepting the buckets and thedischarging mechanism, and for a description of said machine referenceis made to said Letters Patent. The buckets l are secured as set out insaid Letters Patent. They likewise are of the same form in crosssectionand in all their features excepting that they are here provided on theirbacks with a pair of longitudinal slots 2, as seen in Fig. Ll. Theseslots extcndalmost the full length of the buckets, as there seen.Between them there is a section of the bucket 3, forming a rib. Thesebuckets, it is understood, are semicircular, so that when they areturned upward on the ditching-wheel of the machine they have no bottomand their ends are likewise open. Adjacent to the forward ends of thebuckets are the knives 4, Whose nature and functions are explained insaid Letters Patent above referred to.

The ditching mechanism is made as follows: A frame is supported on across-piece 5 of the machine, and consists of the brace-bars 6, se-

cured at their lower ends to said cross-piece 5 by the clamps 7. Attheirupper ends they are preferably integral and so formed as to providea horizontal portion 8 at that point. This horizontal portion has in itla series of bearing-holes 9, in which the shaft 10 has its On the shaftl0 there is provided a hub 1l, which carries a series of preferablythree spurs 12, arranged about one hundred and twenty degrees apart.These spurs are fiat metallic bars about four inches wide. and teninches long with tapering ends. They are longitudinally curved somewhat,as shown.

As the buckets are carried about on the ditching-wheel the forward edgeor knife end of them engages one of the spurs. The end of the spurextends in this case somewhat into the bucket, as seen in Fig. 3, and asthe bucket is carried farther around on the wheel it is IOO obvious thatthe spur will extend farther into the bucket and take out a portion ofits contents. It islikewise obvious that as the bucket proceeds fartherin this process it will move the spur,and thereby rotate the hub onwhich the spurs are secured and will continue to rotate the spursthrough such engagement until the bucket passes by the dischargingapparatus. As soon as one spur has become disengaged from the bucketanother spur is engaged by the succeeding bucket, the buckets being soplaced relatively to each other and to the spurs as to bring about thisresult. lVhile these spurs to some extent discharge the buckets, theirmost important function is to cause a rotation of the hub on which thedischarging-arms are secured. The discharging-arms are secured to thehub by means of the ears 13 and bolts 14. These arms consist of a shank15 and a blade 1G. rIhe arm is twisted between the blade and shank aquarter-twist, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3. They are likewise bent at thepoint of twisting. IVhile this is the preferable form of the arm, stillit is not necessary, as the shank could be otherwise formed. The purposeof bending the arm, as shown, is to cause the blade when it approachesthe slot in the bucket to be parallel with the bucket, as seen in Fig.2. On the blade near the shank we provide a guidelug 17 for the purposeof guiding the blade into the slot and the bucket.

As has been stated, the arms are constantly rotated by the engagement ofthe buckets with the spurs. As the bucket is approaching the dischargingapparatus a pair of the arms is turned down, so that they enter theslots in the buckets, as seen in Fig. 2. As the bucket is carriedfarther and the arms are rotated and carried farther downward it is0bvious that the dat arms will force the dirt out of the bucket upon theconveyer below, and it will force all of the dirt out however sticky orcompact it may be. During the remainder of the passage of the bucket inproximity to the discharging apparatus the arm is rotated further,occupying in the middle stage of this operation the position shown inFig. 3 and in the final stage that shown in Fig. 1.

lBis a transverse plate secured to the skeleton frame within theditching-wheel and extends from the lower portion of the wheel to theupper portion, ending at a point over` the conveyer and curved so as tobe parallel with the internal periphery of the wheel. The function ofthis plate is to prevent the escape of the dirt from the buckets whilethey are being elevated until they reach a point over the conveyer.

Vhat we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. In a traction ditching-machine, the combination of a rotating wheelprovided on its periphery with a series of buckets having longitudinalslots in their backs, and a series of discharge-arms so mounted near thepoint of discharge that they are engaged by the buckets as they passalong and are thereby rotated and caused to enter the slots in thebuckets and discharge their contents.

2. In a traction ditching-machine, the coinbinaiion with skeletonbuckets on the ditching-wheel, of a hub mounted upon a suitableframework above the wheel, a series of spurs extending from the hub thatare engaged by the buckets and thereby rotated, and discharge-armssecured to such hub which when rotated enter the buckets and expel theircontents.

3. In a traction ditching-machine, buckets secured to the ditching-wheelhaving longitudinal slots in their backs, a hub carried on a suitableframework, ar-ms secured to the hub provided with flattened blades thatas they are rotated enter the slots in the buckets and expel theircontents, and means for rotating the discharging-arms.

Il. In a traction ditching-machine, a series of buckets secured to theditching-wheel having in their backs longitudinal slots, a frameextending above the wheel, a rotatable hub mounted in said frame, spursextending from the hub that are engaged by the buckets and rotated, anddischarge-arms that enter the slots as the arms are rotated and expelthe contents of the buckets.

5. In a traction ditching mechanism, buckets secured to theditching-wheel having longitudinal slots in their backs, a hub mountedin a suitable framework above the wheel, discharge-arms secured to suchhub with fiattened blades which enter and rotate the buckets through theslots and discharge the contents, guide-lugs on such discharge-arms toguide them in the slots in the buckets, and means for rotating thedischarge-arms.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands this 9th day of May,1896.

JAMES J. SCEARCY. OLIVER S. MARTIN.

VitnesSeS:

B. A. VOGEL, S. W. FIRTH.

IOO

